The Agency for Village Support, AVISU, a local NGO operating in the Central River Region on 22nd December 2010 hosted a one-day partnership development forum supported by Concern Universal.
The forum brought together development partners operating within CRR North to showcase their activities, to enable beneficiaries to better understand some of the opportunities or services that are being provided for them within the region.
In his statement to welcome participants, Lamin Jaiteh, the director of AVISU, underscored the importance of the forum. The forum creates the enabling environment for development partners to come together for better understanding of what they are doing, and try to build a network, he added.
He also noted that such a forum would give them the opportunity to share experiences in the implementation of projects, and to avoid duplication of efforts.
According to Mr. Jaiteh, AVISU is a national NGO and is the outcome of the transformation of Village Aid The Gambia, an affiliate of Village Aid-UK into a national NGO in 2006.
He said that prior to its transformation, Village Aid has been working in the
This forum will serve as a sensitization session for partners to clear some of the misconceptions or doubts among themselves, so as to be able to foster networking for effective implementation of programs and projects, he added.
Burang Danjo program officer for Concern Universal stated that Concern Universal works with about nine partners, including AVISU, to build their capacities to enable them perform their functions and tasks.
According to him, this particular forum is one of the capacity building support activities that Concern Universal provides for its partners.
Danjo noted that they also support SMILE B a water project and the LIFE project which provides skills training for farmers and young people in entreprenurship in order to enable them embark on activities to improve their livelihood.
Kebba Jammeh the Assistant Regional Agricultural Coordinator for CRR North stated that agriculture is the backbone of any developing country, and that about 60% of the total population are farmers.
He added that government is doing everything possible to ensure farmers’ welfare is given the highest priority in its development agenda.
According to him, the regional office is there to provide technical support to farmers and assist them to be able to maximize their production.
Omar Ceesay the development officer for Kuntaur Area Council stated that his council has always been supportive of community development projects.
“Our support ranges from school fees payment, supporting community initiatives, among others, for the development of our local government area,” he said.
Mr. Ceesay added that all these developments are made possible, thanks to the rates and taxes that are been paid to the council. He, therefore, urged tax payers to pay their taxes on time for quality service delivery in return.
Musa Saho the program officer for AVISU highlighted some of the intervention areas made by his NGO. He stressed that the NGOs are here to support and complement government’s efforts in the realisation of Vision 2020 and the poverty reduction strategic paper 2.
Other presenters at the forum included the department of community development, CEDCOW, Education, Forestry, Health, Police, GAWFA, and NAWEC.
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